Epaulet badge

ABSTRACT

AN EPAULET BADGE TO BE WORN ON THE SHOULDER EPAULET OF A UNIFORM SUCH AS A MILITARY UNUIFORM IS DISCLOSED. THE BADGE IS MADE OF ONE PIECE OF FORMABLE RIDGED MATERIAL AND CAN READILY BE ATTACHED TO OR DETACHED FROM THE EPAULET. A DESIGN OR INSIGNIA CAN BE PRINTED ON, ATTACHED TO OR   PAINTED ON THE BADGE. THE BADGE CAN BE MADE OF ANY COLOR, AND THE BADGE CAN BE MADE TO HAVE A GLOSSY FINISH, A MAT FINISH OR A FABRIC FINISH.

INVEN'IOR LEO M. MOORE WS W A TDRNEYS United States Patent 3,605,300 EPAULET BADGE Leo M. Moore, 8549 Richmond Highway, Apt. 203, Alexandria, Va. 22309 Filed Jan. 14, 1969, Ser. No. 791,080 Int. Cl. A44c 3/100 US. C]. 40-15 7 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE An epaulet badge to be worn on the shoulder epaulet of a uniform such as a military uniform is disclosed. The badge is made of one piece of formable ridged material and can readily be attached to or detached from the epaulet. A design or insignia can be printed on, attached to or painted on the badge. The badge can be made of any color, and the badge can be made to have a glossy finish, a mat finish or a fabric finish.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to badges and more specifically to badges to be worn on the epaulets of uniforms such as military uniforms.

Many units of the United States Armed Forces wear epaulet badges as part of the uniform. The color of the badge and/or the insignia on the badge indicate to which military unit or group the wearer is assigned. For example, some US. Army warrant officer candidates wear a solid orange epaulet badge or an orange badge with a black stripe across the badge, and some commissioned officer candidates wear a white epaulet badge. The combat arm of the US. Army wears a green epaulet badge.

The epaulet badges now used are made of a felt or like cloth. The badge is wrapped around the shoulder epaulet and is snapped together on the underside of the epaulet. Any insignia or ornament worn on the badge is generally attached to the badge by a pin or other suitable well known fastening means.

Unfortunately these prior art cloth type epaulet badges are diflicult to attach to a uniform in a neat and correct manner. Instead of lying flat on the shoulder the cloth tends to bend in such a manner that there is a visible gap between the bottom of the badge and the top of the shoulder epaulet. Also, once the badge is fastened to the epaulet it is difiicult to slide it along the epaulet to locate it at the proper place on the epaulet. If one removes and replaces the badge too often or attempts to slide it along the epaulet, it will become wrinkled or creased. When the badge is wrinkled or creased, it does not look neat. In addition, these cloth type badges can look unsightly if they become wet.

My epaulet badges overcome these prior art problems. My badges are made of a formable rigid material. They are readil attached to and removed from a uniform. No pins or other type of separate fastening devices are needed. The badges always lie fiat on the shoulder and can be easily moved along the length of the epaulet to position them properly. My badges will not wrinkle or crease and are not adversely affected by wet weather.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is therefore an object of this invention to provide an epaulet badge.

Another object of this invention is to provide a one piece epaulet badge.

A still further object of this invention is to provide an epaulet badge made of rigid formable material.

A still further object of this invention is to provide an epaulet badge that is readily attached to and removed from a shoulder epaulet.

Patented Sept. 20, 1971 BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING The above mentioned and other objects of the invention will be apparent from the following detailed description of the invention when read in conjunction with the annexed drawing in which:

FIG. 1 is a top view of my invention;

FIG. 2 is an end view of my invention;

FIG. 3 is a bottom view of my invention;

FIG. 4 is a top view of my invention showing a particular design that may be incorporated as part of my invention;

FIG. 5 is a top view of my invention showing another design that may be incorporated as part of my badge; and

FIG. 6 shows my invention as it is worn on a uniform.

DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Referring now to FIGS. 1, 2 and 3 which show an epaulet badge 1 constructed in accordance with my invention. The badge comprises sides 7 and 8, the ends 9 and 10, folded parts 2 and the bent portions 3. The sides 7 and 8 as shown in FIG. 1 are tapered in such a fashion that end 9 is shorter than end 10. The badge is tapered to fit the taper of an epaulet. The sides 7 and 8 are folded over, as shown at 2 in FIG. 2, to form a gripping means. The ends 3 of the folded parts are bent away from the bottom of the badge. This extra bend provides a lip for easy attachment of badge 1 to the epaulet.

As indicated in FIG 2 the top surface 4 of badge 1 is curved to fit the contour of the wearers shoulder.

Badge 1 can be made of any rigid material that can be molded or formed or extruded. -I prefer to use a formable plastic. Any one of the formable plastics available on the market can be used. Plastic is ideally suited for an epaulet badge because it is strong, durable, economical, and easily formed into the desired shape. Furthermore, plastics can be obtained in any color and various finishes such as a mat finish, a fabric finish, or glossy finish can be imparted to the surface of plastic by using Well known techniques.

As is apparent from FIGS. 1, 2 and 3, epaulet badge 1 is easily attached to an epaulet and is also easily removed. No pins or clasps are necessary to hold the badge in place. Folds 2 grip the epaulet to hold the badge in place. Because epaulet badge 1 is curved going from side 7 to side 8 and due to the manner in which folds 2 are shaped, a narrow channel 12 is formed to provide a pinching effect on the sides of the epaulet, thus holding the badge in place. The bent portions 3 are provided to form a lip so that the badge can be easily attached to the epaulet. These bent portions 3 are not absolutely necessary; however, without this extra bend, it would be obviously more difficult to attach the badge to the epaulet.

Badge 1 can be made of any color. If colored plastics are used to make the badge, all one needs to do is choose the desired color of plastic material. If other materials are used, pigments will have to be added to the material if it cannot be purchased in colors or the badge can be painted. In addition to being of a particular color, many epaulet badges have a particular design on the top of the badge. These particular designs can be printed on, or painted on using a silk screen process or other suitable process, or decals can be used or any other known means can be used to apply a design on top surface 4 of badge 1.

A badge having a design on the top surface is shown in both FIGS. 4 and 5. In FIG. 4 a badge 1 is shown having a bar 5 across the surface of the badge. As was mentioned above, the bar 5 can be painted on, or it can be printed on top surface 4. Also, as was mentioned, decals can be used to apply the design on surface 4.

For this type of badge, plastics are also ideally suited. Badge 1 can be made of laminated plastic. Bar 5 can be a printing of the desired color and the surface can then be covered with a lamination of clear plastic.

FIG. shows a badge with a wheel design on the surface of the badge. As was started with reference to FIG. 4, this wheel design can be applied to the top surface 4 by any known technique.- In order to protect this design, a lamination of clear plastic can be applied over the top of the design, particularly if the badge is made of plastic.

In both FIGS. 4 and 5, the design has been incorporated as part of the badge. in some cases metal insignia of a particular design are worn on top of an epaulet badge. :With cloth badges, it is difficult to place these metal insignia at the proper place each time the insignia is removed and replaced. With my badge, holes can be easily punched through the badge, particularly if the badge is made of plastic; and the metal insignia can be taken off and replaced in the proper position every time. Once the insignia is put on the badge in the correct place, the holes will always be present in the badge to replace the insignia in the proper position on the badge.

While my invention has been described with reference to a specific embodiment, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications of the invention can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. The combination with a uniform epaulet strap, said strap tapering in such a manner that the strap is wider extending gripping means formed along each side for removably attaching said badge to said strap and being formed in a gentle are along the dimension across said strap to generally conform to the contour of the shoulder of the wearer of said uniform.

2. The invention as defined in claim 1 wherein said formable material is plastic.

3'. The invention as defined in claim 1 wherein said material is laminated plastic.

4. The invention as defined in claim 1 wherein a design is incorporated in the top surface of said badge.

5. The invention as defined in claim 1 wherein said formable material is colored.

6. The invention as defined in claim 1 wherein said badge is covered with a lamination of clear plastic.

7. The invention as defined in claim 1 wherein a design is printed on the top surface of said badge.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,935,737 11/1933 Christ 40-10 2,016,644 10/1935 Luball 40-23 2,521,558 9/1950 Alvarez 40-l0 2,575,280 11/1951 Long 40--336X ROBERT W. MICHELL, Primary Examiner W. J. CONTRERAS, Assistant Examiner US. Cl. X.R. 2-246 

